Shrink
by Lexosaurus
Summary: Danny's parents are worried about him so they force him to see a psychologist. Will secrets be revealed? WARNING: contains mention of self-harm.
1. Chapter 1

**So I got bored and decided to write a twoshot. So this is part one of the twoshot. Yeah...ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own DP. (Just wondering, do we HAVE to put these before fanfiction? Cuz I'm a little confused about that. Personally, I'd prefer not to but if it's a necessity then I'll do it.)**

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><p>When Danny got home from school that day, the house was silent. That was the first warning sign.<p>

The second was their positioning. His father, always a boisterous, happy man, slouched on a seat in the kitchen table with his mother hovering over him. They both had somber expressions on their faces, and they observed Danny as if he would explode at any second as he glided over to him.

"Mom? Dad?" He asked, his voice full of worry. "Is something wrong?"

"Danny," his mom tried to smile and great him with the same warm expression she always did, but failed miserably. Danny noticed her red-rimmed eyes and blotched cheeks, which only sent a tremor of panic through him. His mom never cried, ever.

His father just sighed, slouching further down, and said monotone, "Yes, son, there's something we need to talk to you about."

His eyes widened. "Is my aunt okay?"

Danny remembered how his mom's sister was rock climbing when she slipped and fell. As far as Danny knew, she had started out in critical condition but was now expected to make a full recovery. Even so, things can change quickly.

Danny's father's eyes broke eye contact with him. Suddenly, Danny's father looked more downcast than Danny had ever seen him. "No, son, it's about you."

"Me?" Danny gasped. "What did I do?"

"It's not what you're doing exactly," Maddie said, her eyes suddenly getting shiny. "It's what you're not doing. You're never home, you're not studying or doing homework, and you're just never...happy anymore."

"I'm plenty happy!" Danny countered. "So what if I'm stressed, isn't every high schooler?"

"Danny," Maddie whispered. "Stop trying to hide it." And with that, she held up a razor. It was small with bits of dried blood on it. "It fell out of your pocket this morning."

"M-mom," Danny's backpack dropped to the floor with a thud. "It's not what you think!"

"Then what is it?" Maddie shouted, tears streaming down her face. "Explain it, Danny!"

He ran his fingers through his hair, pulling at his raven hair with the tips of his fingers. His eyebrows scrunched as he chewed the bottom of his lip. "I...I..." He shook his head in defeat and muttered, "I'm sorry."

Maddie broke down into fits of sobs, setting the razor on the table next to her. Jack spoke up in place of her, "Son, we're doing this because we love you."

Danny crossed his arms and stared at the ground. He couldn't believe his rotten luck. "So what now?"

Maddie composed herself enough to let out a shaky response. "We're sending you to a psychologist."

"No," Danny glared up at them. "No way am I going to a shrink!"

"Danny, please!" Maddie yelled despairingly, "Don't make this any harder for us than it has to be!"

"Then don't send me to a goddamn shrink!" Danny retorted crossly.

"Enough!" Jack roared. Maddie and Danny fell into a submissive silence at his words.

"Danny," he gazed cautiously at his son. "We love you and when you hurt, we hurt. It's part of being your parents."

Tears sprung to Danny's eyes he nonchalantly wiped them away with his hand. "I'm sorry."

"Danny, please. Just please do this for us," Maddie pleaded. At Danny's silence, she tried again, her voice cracking, "Please?"

This time when the tears sprung to his eyes, he didn't wipe them away in time. "Okay."

LINEBREAK

"Hi Danny," a soft voice called. Danny was sitting in a squishy chair in a small office. "I'm Katie."

The office was bright but cozy at the same time. It had a off-white carpeting, red walls, and a white ceiling with a small, white window that overlooked Amity Park. Danny occupied the big brown armchair in the corner of the room, refusing to lie down in the cream colored couch next to him like a stereotypical patient. Katie sat in a black swivel chair holding a clipboard.

"Hi," Danny muttered glumly, refusing to meet her eyes. She had auburn curly hair and big, green eyes. One side of her hair was tucked neatly behind a small, pale ear, so one of her white, pearl earrings came to view. Her red lipstick highlighted the bright, warm features in her lightly freckled face. She was wearing a silky yellow and orange-flowered shirt with a green skirt. Danny liked her, but she was a psychologist and he was her patient. He was forced to be here, and he couldn't accept that.

"So tell me, how's your day going?" she asked, in an attempt to ease his transition.

He shrugged, not breaking eye contact with the floorboards. "Okay I guess."

"Yeah? That's good."

Danny fidgeted, tugging at a loose thread in his black long sleeved shirt. It wasn't that Sam was rubbing off on him or anything, he just couldn't find it in him to wear bright colors anymore, other than his blue jeans. He thought it looked weird on him. And it's not like he could wear his regular short sleeved shirt. Ghost fighting left him with scars littered all over his body, arms included, and his own anxiety only served to amplify the amount of those scars.

Thankfully, Katie broke the silence. "So your mom told me you're having some trouble lately at home and in school."

Danny smirked sadly, "I bet she did."

"You wanna talk about it?" She asked. Her voice was soft like velvet. Danny imagined she had the ability to get even the worst kid out of a violent tantrum. Unfortunately, Danny wasn't four. He knew exactly what she was and why he was here.

"No."

She cocked her head curiously. "Why not?"

"Because this is stupid," Danny leaned back in the plush chair and stared up at the textured ceiling.

"How?"

He huffed. "I'm fine. My parents want me to be here but I know I don't need to be here. This is just a waste of all of our time."

Instead of being even slightly offended, she put another warm smile on her face and said soothingly, "I don't think this is a waste of our time. Danny, it's okay to be nervous and anxious the first time in here, but just know that you can trust me. I'm here for you, and I'm not going to tell your mother anything you don't want me to. What you say in this room stays in this room."

Danny put his head in his cupped hands. Since the start of his ghost fighting two years ago, there was a _lot _he would like to get off his mind. His fear of his parents, his lack of sleep, his anxiety, his grades, the GiW, the bullying, and more. There were things, like the razor, he never told anyone, not even Sam and Tucker. He was sure his sister saw at least _some _change in him, but probably assumed it was related to the amount of stress he carried around with him.

But, as inviting as Katie sounded, he couldn't just give away all of his secrets. _Maybe if I make it seem like we're making progress, my parents will let me quit coming here, _he thought as he blueprinted his brilliant plan in his mind.

"I don't know, I guess school's just been kind of stressful," he shrugged again, pretending to open up to her. "Like, classes and stuff. You know, the normal high school thing."

"Yeah? And how are you managing your classes?"

He didn't skip a beat, "Fine I guess. Sure, I miss an assignment here and there, but I'm pretty sure _everyone _does that."

She jotted something down on her brown clipboard before continuing on. "How are things socially?"

"Perfectly fine."

"I hear you're pretty close with a couple people."

"Yeah," Danny confirmed, nodding. "They're my closest friends. We do everything together."

"Do they know you've been hurting yourself?" She asked.

That was it. She just dropped the hydrogen bomb of Danny's emotions in one sentence. He jumped up and defensively and shouted, "No! Of course not! Where did you even hear about that?"

Ignoring his sudden change of attitude, Katie answered, "Your mother told me. She's very worried about you. Danny. We all are."

Danny spluttered, "She has no right! Not after everything...no! None! She-they are...I just..." he sat plopped back down, defeated, in his armchair. "I said I was sorry. It was an accident."

"What was?"

Danny rubbed the back of his neck, not sure how to respond. He didn't want to let Katie in. Those were his emotions and she wasn't a part of them. But, then again, it was only a matter of time before he exploded. "When I started."

He took a shuddering breath, blinking away tears that threatened to roll down his cheek. She didn't say anything as she calmly handed him a box of tissues and resumed her position on the chair. She just waited patiently for him to continue on. And the lack of pressure, the lack of demand for him to talk, was what ultimately allowed him to convince himself that she could be trusted. "I...do this _thing _after school. It's, well, it's kinda secret. I mean, like, my friends, Sam and Tucker, know about it. But no one else. I mean, they usually _help _me with it. It's kinda complicated I guess. But anyways, I sometimes have to do it alone and there was this woman who likes to mess with people. That's literally her favorite thing to do. And she got to me. I was a mess and the next thing I know, I can hardly remember it now, I was holding a paper clip and there were scratches all over my arms. I just...didn't know what to do. I was too scared to tell anyone. I guess that's why I kept it secret."

When she was done scribbling words down on her clipboard, she pressed on, "Why did you continue hurting yourself?"

"I..." Danny searched his mind, trying to come up with an answer when it dawned on him that he _didn't _have an answer. It just felt _right. _Of course, he couldn't say that. "I guess the anxiety never stopped like I thought I did and that was the only way to snap out of it."

She nodded slightly and asked, almost hesitantly, "Do you mind telling me what this activity it you do after school?"

Danny stiffened. Yes, yes he did mind very much. "I c-can't tell you," he shuddered, thinking about what would happen if he did. Was she a supporter? Would she dial up the GiW or worse, his _parents_?

"Why not?" she asked without raising a single tone in her voice.

Danny ran his hands through his hair again as he thought of how to respond without giving anything away. "It's too dangerous. People get hurt."

"Danny, if you're in trouble then all I want to do is help."

Danny jumped out of his chair and started pacing the floor. "I...I'm sorry, but you can't help me. It's not that I don't love doing what I do, because I do like it very much. I like helping people. But...this? This is bigger than what you'd think. If I told you then others would find out about it and they'd...they'd kill me."

"Danny, please calm down. Remember how I said I'd promise I could be trusted?"

Danny nodded numbly, suddenly nauseous after thinking about the GiW or his parents experimenting on him.

She offered a small, hopeful smile, "I still can be trusted. Please, Danny, I'm just here to help. You can tell me."

He wanted to, oh he wanted to tell her _so _badly. But the complications in doing so were tremendous. If Vlad found out...No, he'd never find out. She promised Danny she could be trusted. She's a psychologist, right? She wouldn't turn on him or be judgmental just because he wasn't entirely human anymore, right? She could be trusted. But did Danny really want to take those chances? Was the risk too much?

He was vaguely aware he'd stopped pacing the floor. He was also slightly aware of the sudden decrease in temperature of the room. He raised it a little, hoping she didn't notice, as he made up his mind on what he would say.

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><p><strong>Oh, yes, I'm <em>so <em>mean. I know. **

**My mom actually told me that she's worried for when I go to college next year because, according to her...**

**Mom: "You're roommate's going to hate you. She's going to come in one night with a knife in her and you're just going to shrug and tell her not to get any blood on the floor."**

**Me: "What's that supposed to mean?"**

**Mom: "Honey, you're the least sympathetic person I've ever met."**

**Me: *pauses* *shrugs* "Yeah...c'est juste."**


	2. Chapter 2

In fact, Danny wasn't going to say anything.

He felt bad doing it; he almost didn't want to break this small amount of trust that had formed between them at his spilled emotions, but he knew it was necessary. He already revealed too much. He knew that much. And he also knew that he really didn't want to know what would happen if this complete stranger became a part of his secret. Plus, he was still a minor. Katie had every legal right to tell his mother about his dangerous activity, and _then _what? What would Maddie do? Would she accept him, or would she disown him as her son and give him up to the GiW for experimentation? Or worse, would she experiment on him herself?

No, those were risks Danny had a negative interest in taking.

So he said nothing as he quickly slipped out of the room and bolted out of the building with both her and Maddie's shocked cries of "Danny!" following him as he sped out the door. The sounds of his feet pounding on the damp pavement only quickened at their voices, and he skidded around the corner of an ominous brick building. Stopping once he was out of sight from the public eye, he gulped down a few breaths of cool air, which was so sharp and crisp it bit at his lungs and did little to satisfy his oxygen needs.

He bent down, placing his hands on his knees, as he let his heart stop thudding in his rib cage. Only after he felt a collective calm blanket his entire body did he allow white rings to wash over him, turning him into Danny Phantom. He turned invisible, levitated off the ground, and went to the one place he always went to in order to think.

**MADDIE POV**

I was heartbroken. Angry, but heartbroken at Danny's behavior. After assuring poor Katie, who looked just as upset as I, that it wasn't her fault, I ran off to find Danny. Unfortunately, our estranged relationship left me with little knowledge about where he went in times of personal crisis, so I didn't exactly know where to start looking. Where do you look for a teenage boy who keeps more secrets than is good for his health?

Hours passed and I still could not find him. With my increasing anxiety over this situation came my increasing weariness, so I decided to stop in the park for a minute to breath and think about this situation a little deeper. If I hadn't found Danny yet, there was something I was obviously missing. There _had _to be. I just wished I knew what it was.

As I approached the park, I saw the faint glow from a boy. Only a hundred-or-so meters away from the figure, I was able to discern clearly that it was, in fact, Phantom.

Phantom. The mere thought of that boy left a sour taste in my mouth. I hated him. I _hated _him. He was awful; the way he would swoop into a situation I clearly had under control, offer a few words of witty banter, suck the specter into _stolen Fenton gear, _and speed away was unbearable. But, oddly enough, I wasn't in the mood to fight him, and he didn't seem to be in the mood to fight either. It dawned on me that this might be the first time I'd really ever seen him when not in the midst of a battle, and I started to wonder what he ever really did while he wasn't beating up some ghost.

So I crept closer to find that he was laying on the ground staring up at the stars. He seemed so absorbed in the limitless sky that he didn't notice my presence. That was odd. That was very odd. Ghosts don't _do _that sort of thing. It's not in their nature. Ghosts are driven by obsession, so if they're not actively trying to participate in fueling that obsession, they get very anxious.

As I sat down next to him, he stiffened. I could practically see him internally berate himself for letting a ghost hunter get this close to him.

He broke the silence. "What, no ecto-gun?"

"No," I shook my head and crossed my legs. My own weary voice shocked me. Where was the girl that would stop at nothing to kidnap the menace?

When Danny ran away, he took away a piece of me. Without him, what was I? Just like without Jack or Jazz, what was I really? A failure of a wife? A failure of a mother? That's certainly what I felt like right now.

"Why?" he asked. "You've never been one to stop being so trigger-happy before."

Wow, he sounded just as tired as I was. But no...that's impossible! Ghosts don't _get _tired.

"I'm trying to find my son," my chin wobbled a little at my words. "I was trying to help him and he didn't respond so well. Not that _you'd _care or anything," I added quickly, glancing venomously sideways. Why was I doing this? Why was I pouring my story out to this boy-a ghost no less! Was it because of how young he looked? He did look about my son's age when he died.

I wonder if his family was still alive. I wonder if they knew he was like this: a ghost. A freaking feral ghost.

"I'm sorry," Phantom said, "But it's not like _you'd _care about that either."

"Shut up," I glared at him.

"Hey, I was just stargazing over here. I didn't ask for your amicable companionship or anything," he defended. "So don't get pissed at _me _when the conversation goes sour."

My hands started shaking in fury, "You're a ghost! You don't _stargaze, _you plot your next move to take over the world! You may have the town fooled, _Phantom,_ but you can't fool me! I know you're nothing but a filthy piece of trash, tainting this town of everything it prides!"

He bit his lip. "If you say so," he said as his eyes fixed pointedly at the sky.

I frowned, "What, you're not going to fight back? Isn't terrorizing innocent humans the thing you love most?"

"No," he mumbled. "No. I like protecting innocent people, not fighting angry ghost-hunters who's time is probably better spent not talking to me."

"Protect?" I stared at him incredulously, "You think you protect? Come on, Phantom, we both know that's bullcrap."

"Okay," he said.

"I mean all you do is destroy buildings and homes-"

"Okay."

"-and tear apart the lives of families who live there-"

"Okay."

"-You're really a waste of space, Phantom, you know that?"

"Don't you have a son you're supposed to be looking for?"

During my rant I was staring at a tree in the distance, but now I looked right at Phantom and I saw the pained expression he hardly even bothered to hide. The hurt in his eyes almost matched that of my son's eyes earlier to today, and remorse filled me. I looked at Phantom and I saw Danny-_my _Danny. I remembered his face, twisted with a number of emotions, as he ran away.

My throat constricted and I just barely croaked out a pitiful, "I'm sorry."

He glanced at me, worry suddenly filling those acid green eyes. "It's okay. I'm used to it."

I didn't know how to respond to that. We sat in silence for a few minutes while I blinked away tears. It was really starting to get cold out now. I shivered, wishing I had a jacket on me right now. Then, before my brain could utter a protest, my lips blurt out, "How did you die?"

He shifted, uncomfortable, and I wondered if that was a taboo subject for ghosts. But how could it be? Ghosts don't have feelings!

"Electrocution," he answered briefly.

"That's an odd way to die," I thought out loud.

"Well it explains why I'm a ghost so...not really. Most ghosts are murdered or died in an unusual way. You know the Box Ghost? He worked as a UPS delivery guy and died when he opened the back of the truck and an order of packaged TVs fell on him. One hit his temple and he was gone."

"Oh," I said, not sure how I should feel about that.

"You can laugh. It's okay, I did," he said dully.

"That's rude," I said crossly.

"No. His death was just stupid; that's all," he countered, still with that stoic expression.

I didn't respond. I didn't trust myself to not screw up this tiny level of trust we acquired. Was it trust? I think I was making stuff up...

"And since you're wondering, yes I really am stargazing. Before I died I wanted to be an astronaut," he said. A small smile crossed his otherwise emotionless visage. It occurred to me that Danny wanted to do that exact same thing when he was older, and it crushed me that they had that in common.

But did it really crush me? No, no it didn't, which was odd. Instead, I just felt that gaping hole in my heart that Danny created when he sprinted off earlier today. Was he safe? Was he okay?

Does he still love me?

"Space is just fascinating," he went on, his eyes lighting up. "I mean, the inflation theory? So cool! And I have eternity to study this stuff now. Who knows, maybe I'll discover the reason the Universe is expanding at a consistently increasing speed instead of slowing down like you think gravity would be making it. I mean, there _has _to be another force at play. And what if it's not dark matter pushing it away? What if it's another universe's physics acting upon it? Then that would prove the multiverse theory which would just open up a whole new set of exoplanets and theories to discover. Oh, sorry, I'm rambling. You probably stopped listening a while ago, though..."

"No," I shook my head at his downcast eyes. "No, I'm just intrigued now. I didn't think ghost's interests could stray from their obsessions. I also didn't know ghosts could have any real...intelligence."

He giggled. It was a soft, light giggle. It was quite nice. I could tell that talking about his favorite topic had brought him out of whatever funk he was stuck in. "Yeah, well, I'm pretty geeky at my school, even though I don't get good grades-I, uh, I mean, I _was _a geek. You know, when I was alive or whatnot."

"You sound like my son," I commented, once again reminded of my loss by the town's new mascot. "Recently he's been having trouble at his school too. I know he's so much smarter than those grades he brings home. But it's not just that; he's also been tired, moody, and just...depressed lately. I don't know what to do."

"Oh," Phantom shifted uncomfortably again. "Maybe you should talk to him. See what's on his mind. Maybe he's dealing with something..."

"Maybe," I said frustrated. "I just wish I knew! Doesn't he trust me enough to talk to me? Doesn't he understand how much I care about him, and that I'll _always _care about him no matter what happens? He and his sister are my whole world, and it breaks my heart to see him this way. I just wish, more than anything, that he would tell me what's going on and tell me what's wrong so I can be there for him like a mother should be there for their children. I wish..." I stopped, my voice cracking. Yet, I forced myself to continue, "I wish he was _here _with me so I could tell him...tell him how much I love him."

Phantom sat up and I saw florescent tears streaming down his face. White rings washed over his body and the white hair turned to black, the green eyes turned to bright blue, and the suit and DP logo turned into a regular black shirt, blue jeans, and red converse sneakers. I gasped, and he shook.

"M-Mom," he spluttered. "You don't know how much I needed to hear that."

"Danny!" I flew into him, gripping him tightly with a fierce hug. "Danny I'm so sorry!"

"I know, Mom, me too."

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><p><strong>Wow. I swear I did <em>not <em>plan for it to be that emotional. Great, now all you guys are going to think I have mommy-issues or something.**

**Well, onto the reviews!**

**KodiakWolfe13: Lol the update was not soon. Not all all. I can't write a long reply because I have to go somewhere, but OHMYGOSH WE HAVE SO MUCH IN COMMON IT'S AMAZING.**

**Invader Johnny: Yeah, but you have to keep in mind that he's really emotionally unstable right now.**

**Poohbearmorris: It actually wasn't my idea. I got it from a challenge. I kinda combined two challenges an author posted into one fic. I'm going to send her a link to this fic tonight so I hope she likes it!**

**doggyjunky: *salutes***

**Guest: Thank you!**

**TheSunIsStillDark: YES. I'M SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG BUT YES. HERE IT IS.**

**WolfKael: Yes, and so much of it!**

**bibbledoo: Teeheeheez**

**bibliophilea: Wait, so, EW WAS DANNY EATING HUMANS AT THOSE DINNERS? Ohmygosh *vomits* wow, Lectar, wow. Yes, there was lots of options! So I hope you liked this one!**


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